Can-cooling device



E. w. HOPPER.

CAN COOLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.19. 1920.

' 1,420,841. Patented June 27, 1922.

L- a q 24 ahue a-rfm [Idea/M1199 trated 'in the wherein ERNEST W.HOPPER, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, ASSIG-NOR TO HOPPER CANNERY MACHINERYTON.

00., OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, A CORPORATION OF WASHING- GAN-COOLING-DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pgmtgnted Jung 2'? 1%22;

Application filed January'IB', 1920. Serial Nb.'352,e42.

T 0 all whom it may concern a citizen of the United States, residing atSeattle,in the county of King and State of Washington, have invented acertain new and useful Improvement in Can-Cooling Devices, of which thefollowing is a specification.

-My' invention relates to improvements in apparatus. for cooling tincans that are filled with cooked food after such cans have been removedfrom a retort or cooking oven and the obj ct of my invention is toprovide a cooling apparatus that is adapted to receive the heated cansfrom a retort and subj ect them to a cooling blast of air, for a longenough period of time to thoroughly 0001 such cans.

A further object is to provide a can cooling device. that may beconnected with a retort from which cans'are being dischargedcontinuously and which will receive such cans and subject them to acooling process.

A still further object is to provide a can cooling device that is simplein its plan of parts to getout of order.

My invention consists in the novel construction, adaptation andcombination of parts of a can cooling apparatus as will be more clearlyhereinafter described and claimed. v

I accomplish these objects by devices illusaccompanying drawings Figure1 is a view in side elevation of a can cooling device constructed in'accord} ance with my invention Fig. 2 is a detached plan view of the cancarrying ,cage substantially on broken line -2, 2 of Fig; 1 certainparts being broke away; 7. a Fig. 3 is a view in cross-section on brokenline 3,3 of Fig. 1 and Figure 4c, is a cross sectional view taken online IV-IV of Fig. 1. I Referring to the drawings," throughout whichlike reference numerals indicate like parts, the numerals 5 and 6designate two end headers that are fixedly mounted in spaced apartrelation on an inclined shaft 7 that is journaled in bearings 8 and 10.The headers 5 and 6 each comprise a hub portion 11 that is secured tothe shaft 7, a

D Y spoked or webbed portion 12 that permits Be it known that I, ERNESTW. HOPPER, f

ree, passage and. circulation of air therebetween and a relativelywider-im portion 13, as more clearly shown in Fig. 3;

A plurality of can conduits or trackways 14 that are each preferablyformed of four angle bars arranged in spaced apart relation. at the fourcorners of each trackway 14, shown in Fig. 3, the angle bars beingspaced apart to permit the free circulation of air wlthin the trackwaysl4: and said trackways being inclined just enough to cause the cans toroll freely from the inlet to the discharge end thereof.

In Fig. 2 1 have shown a portion of the header broken away] and'haveshown the idly secured to the side walls of such openings so that thetrackways 14: are open to receive. cans from can inlet chute 16 at :thehead end of the machine and to discharge cans into a discharge chute 17at V p the discharge end of the machine. construction, efficient inoperation, mexpen- The headers 5 and 6 have, rigid or stationary annularplates 20 and 21, respectlvely dlsposed in relatively light engagementwith the outer sides thereof as shown in Figswl and 2, to prevent theinlet'and exit of cansexcept through the inlet and discharge chutes 16and 17 The annular plates 20 and 21 are adapted to be fixedly secured inany well known manner to the 7 bearings 8 and l0 at spectively. I j

The inlet and discharge chutes project points 20 and 21 rethroughsuitable notches 22 formed in the support end plates 20 and 21 and areoffset a distance equal to the distance betweentwo successivetrackwayswith respect to each other so that as the cage formed by thetwo end plates 5 and 6 and the trackways 14 is rotated in the direction,shown by the arrow, cans will be admitted to one trackway from..thechute 16 and will be retained therein while the cage ismaking almost onecarries a rigidly mounted cam 26 having a curved surface 27 that isarranged to engage with a pin 28 in the pawl 23 and lift said pawl fromthe position shown by full lines to the position shown by dotted linesin Fig. 3, each time the shaft 25 is turned through one completerevolution thereby rotating the cage an amount equal to the distancebetween two successive trackways 14.

The upper end of the pawl 23 is arranged to engage with teeth orshoulders 30 in a band 31- that is secured to and encircles the severaltrackways 14v and the pawl 23 is normally held in engagement with saidband 3l'by a spring 32.

The shaft 25 is journaled in suitable bearings 33 and may be connectedwith any suitable driving mechanism, not shown, by which it may berotated at a predetermined speed which will leave the cans in thetrackways 14 for a long enough period of time to thoroughly cool them.

Air for cooling purposes may be supplied to the can cooler by a fan 3dthat is rigid on a shaft 35 that is journaled in a bearing 36 and isconnected by a belt 37 with a motor 38 by which it may be driven.

The fan 3a shown in the drawings, is located at the inlet or head end ofthe machine but it will be understood that the same may be located atany other point, if desired, so long as all parts of the trackways aresubjectedto the blast of cooling air therefrom. In operation, heatedcans are delivered into the chute ,16 so that they will tend to roll bygravity down said chute. As soon as an empty trackway 1a is movedopposite the chute 16 the cans 'will roll thereinto and fill saidtrackway and will be retained therein until the trackway has been movedaround almost one complete revolution or until it registers with the canoutlet chute l7 whereupon the cans will be permitted to roll out therebyleaving said trackwayempty and in condition to again be filled withheated cans upon the next progressive movement thereof which will brinit into re lstratlon .with the inlet chute 16.

In the manner above described, a batch of heated'cans may be deliveredinto one trackway and a batch of cooled cans discharged from anothertrackway at each progressive forward movement of the can carrying cagethus making the process continuous.

The cam 26 is shaped so that it will raise the pawl 23 from thelowermost to the uppermost limit of its movement while the shaft 25 isbeing turned through a relatively small angle thus allowing the cancarrying cage to remain at rest with one trackway in registration withthe inlet chute and another trackway in registration with the outletchute throughout the greater portion of the time consumed by eachcomplete revolution of the shaft 25.

l l hen the device is in operation all ofthe trackways except the onethat is in registration with the discharge chute 17 will normally befilled with cans.

Obviously, changes may be made in the forms, dimensions and arrangementof parts of my invention without departing from the spirit thereof.

l Vhat I claim is: n

1. In a can cooling device, a plurality of trackways formed oflongitudinal corner rods defining lateral open spaces and means fordirecting a blast of air over and through said trackways.

2. In a can cooling device, a plurality of trackways inclined withrespect to the horizontal and formed of longitudinal corner rodsdefining lateral open spaces, and means for directing a cooling blast ofair over and through said trackways.

3. In a can cooling device, a can carrying cage comprising a pluralityof relatively fixed trackways arranged for rotation about an axis thatis inclined with respect to the horizontal and formed oflongitudinalcorner rods defining lateral open spaces, and means for directing acooling blast of air over and through said traekways.

a. A can cooling device comprising a can carrying cage formed of aplurality of trackways arranged in relatively fixed cylindricalrelationand rotatable about an axis that is inclined slightly with respect tothe horizontal and formed of longitudinal corner rods defining lateralopen spaces, and means for directing a cooling blast of air lengthwisethrough said cage and track ways. 7

5. A can cooling device, comprising a cage formed of a plurality oftrackways fixed with respect to each other and arranged in substantiallycylindrical spaced apart relation and formed of longitudinal corner rodsdefining lateral open spaces, means supporting said cage for rotationabout an axis that is inclined slightly with respect to the horizontal,means for rotating said cage, a device for delivering cans into one endof said trackways as said cage is rotated, another device for receivingcans from the opposite end of said traekways, and means for directing acooling blastof air over and through said trackways.

6. A device of the class described, comprising a cage formed of twoheaders disposed inspaced apart parallel relation, a

plurality of trackways secured to saidheaders and extending therebetweenin substantially cylindrical relative fixed spaced apart relation, andformed of longitudinal corner rods defining lateral open spaces, saidtrackways having open passageways at each end through said headers,means supporting said cage for rotation about an inclined axis,

means for rotating said cage, a fixed plate adjacent the header at thedischarge end of said cage, a discharge chute projecting through saidfixed plate and arranged to successively register with the open ends ofsaid trackways when said cage is rotated, an inlet chute at the oppositeend from said discharge chute and arranged to succes-

